Kade seems to sense my spiraling thoughts. He turns me around in his arms, his hands coming up to cup my face as his dark eyes meet mine. "We've got this," he repeats Stefan's words. "Trust me."
And I do. I trust him with everything I have, with my life and my heart and now with the lives of our Omegas. If anyone can navigate this impossible situation, it's Kade.
"Okay," I say, nodding against his hands. "What do you need me to do?"
"For now? Go back to the nest," Kade says, pressing a kiss to my forehead. "Take care of Solana. Make sure she and Ashton both eat something when they wake up. Let Stefan and I handle the security and logistics."
Part of me wants to argue, wants to insist that I can help with more than just nest duty. But the exhaustion pulling at my bones reminds me that I'm in no shape to be useful for much else. And Solana does need someone with her, someone to help her through the tail end of her heat and back into normalcy.
"Alright," I agree. "But you keep me updated. No more disappearing and coming back like that again without explanation."
"Deal," Kade says, stealing another kiss before releasing me.
I grab my coffee mug, rinsing it out in the sink before heading back toward the bedroom. Stefan catches my arm as I pass him, his grip gentle but firm.
"Thank you," he says quietly. "For letting us stay. For not kicking us out despite everything we've brought to your door."
I pull him into a quick hug, my other arm wrapping around his shoulders. "You're family. Of course you can stay."
When I pull back, there's something complicated in Stefan's expression. Gratitude mixed with guilt and maybe a hint of hope. But before I can ask about it, he's releasing me and stepping back.
"Go take care of our Omegas," Stefan says. "We've got everything else handled out here."
I leave them in the kitchen, making my way back down the hall toward the bedroom. The closer I get, the stronger the scent of vanilla orchid and faded lavender becomes. Our Omegas, safe and sleeping in the nest we built together.
Two weeks. We have two weeks to figure out how to keep both our Omegas safe.
Chapter forty-four
Ashton
I wake slowly, my body aching in ways that feel both foreign and strangely satisfying. Every muscle protests as I shift slightly, reminding me of activities my body still isn't accustomed to. But underneath the soreness is something else, something warm and full of happiness that makes me want to burrow deeper into wherever I am and never leave.
The smells hit me next, cutting through the fog of sleep and making my brain struggle to process. Vanilla and orchid, so sweet and overwhelming it makes my mouth water. Hay and honey, familiar and comforting in ways I don't fully understand. Cedar and leather and woodsmoke, grounding scents that make something in my chest settle. And underneath it all, my own faded lavender mixing with everything else to create something that shouldn't work but does.
My eyes flutter open slowly, adjusting to the dim light filtering through curtains I don't recognize. The room is unfamiliar, decorated in warm neutrals with furniture that's too nice to belong to any place I've ever stayed. Confusion swirls through my mind as I try to piece together where I am and how I got here.
Then the memories start flooding back in fragments. Stefan carrying me somewhere. The overwhelming scent of Solana's heat permeating everything. A soft and warm nest and smelling like safety. Hands on my body, lips against mine, pleasure so intense it bordered on painful. Stefan's knot locking us together, his purr rumbling through my chest. And then... Solana. Wrapped around me, her heat-addled body seeking comfort, the two of us tangled together while our Alphas cared for both of us.
Oh fuck. I'm in Kade and Dustin's nest. With their Omega. After participating in her heat in ways that should probably get me killed or at least thrown out on my ass. The panic starts to build, my heart rate picking up as I catalog all the ways this situation could go catastrophically wrong.
I feel movement beside me and realize Solana is pressed against my side, her body warm and soft and completely unconscious of personal boundaries. Her head is pillowed on my shoulder, one arm thrown across my chest, her legs tangled with mine under the blankets. She's still deeply asleep, her breathing even.
For a moment, I just lie there and take in the situation. Solana's skin is darker than mine, that beautiful medium brown that seems to glow even in the dim light. Her braids are slightly mussed from days in the nest, a few strands escaping to frame her face. Her features are relaxed in sleep, making her look younger and more vulnerable than when she's awake.
I can see the evidence of her heat clearly marked on her body. Love bites dot her neck and shoulders, dark purple bruises in the shape of mouths claiming her. Scratches run down her sides where someone gripped her too hard in the throes of passion. And there's bruising on her hips, finger-shaped marks that speak to being held in place while being thoroughly fucked.
My eyes drift lower and I feel heat flood my face. There's dried spend on her stomach, white streaks that have flaked and cracked against her skin. Mine. That's mine. I came on her stomach last night while watching Dustin knot her, too overwhelmed by the scene before me to control myself.
The evidence of what we did, what I participated in, is undeniable. And instead of feeling guilty or ashamed, all I feel is a bone-deep satisfaction that I was included. That I was welcomed into this intimate space and allowed to be part of something so sacred as another Omega's heat.
Solana stirs beside me, her body shifting as consciousness starts to return. I feel the exact moment awareness hits her because she goes completely rigid, her breathing changing from the deep rhythm of sleep to shallow puffs of air. Then she shoots up so fast I don't have time to move out of the way.
The top of her head connects with my forehead with a sickening crack that makes my vision white out for a second. Pain explodes across my skull, making me let out an involuntary groan. I roll over onto my side, my hand coming up to press against my forehead where I'm sure a massive bruise is already forming.
"I... fuck, sorry," Solana gasps, her voice rough from sleep and overuse. She's scrambling backward in the nest, the blanket clutched to her chest as she stares at me with wide eyes.
I manage a chuckle despite the throbbing in my head, the sound coming out slightly pained. "I didn't think I'd be waking up to sunshine."
